Tadge Juechter ' 79
代际历史:自2006年被任命为“美国跑车”的总工程师以来，Juechter已经指导了Corvette的几个车型年的生产. (照片:J. 亚当窗口)在2号.距离底特律半小时车程的通用汽车试验场9英里的米尔福德路球场, 塔吉·朱赫特(Tadge Juechter)于1979年向我们展示了他帮助向购车者介绍的克尔维特(Corvette)车型的几个例子.
从20世纪90年代破旧的C5 Corvette测试模型到全新的红色e - ray——该车型70年历史上的第一辆电动汽车, 将于今年晚些时候上市，juechter几乎在汽车的各个方面都发挥了重要作用.
A member of the Corvette team since 1993, Juechter was named executive chief engineer of Corvette in 2006. Throughout his storied career, he has helped reimagine the vehicle known as “America’s sports car” many times over, with more big changes on the horizon.
Each generation of the car presents engineering hurdles, 最近的一些挑战包括为E-Ray开发电池，以尽可能快地将能量输入和输出汽车. But he shies away from saying he has a fondness for one Corvette model over another.
“I get asked all the time if I have a favorite model, but it’s like choosing a favorite child,Juechter说. “We have poured blood, sweat, and tears into every one. 事实是，无论我目前开发的是什么模式，我都是我最喜欢的，我完全投入其中.”
Juechter and his team of thousands of engineers, 设计师, 机械师们已经接受了一项雄心勃勃的任务，那就是制造一辆忠于汽车著名历史的电动跑车.
这包括解决发烧友对电力推进与内燃机相比性能的担忧.
“我们面临着巨大的商业挑战——如何让人们接受电气化?Juechter说. “在我们的细分市场，这种情况尤其严重，因为我们的汽车有很多特点和很多历史. 因此，我们的许多客户完全依赖于我们70年来提供的产品，因此他们对电气化持怀疑态度.”
It’s a challenge that Juechter seems to relish, and his colleagues say he’s uniquely equipped to address it.
“没有比他更好的人或领导者能把克尔维特带入电动汽车的未来,乔什·霍尔德说。, vehicle chief engineer at Corvette and one of Juechter’s protégés. “There’s not a problem he can’t solve or doesn’t know the details of when asked. 从书呆子工程师到高级财务人员，他都能以一种人人都能理解的方式来构建一切.”
克尔维特的形象:除了在任何时候监督汽车的多个迭代工作，包括今年的电气化E-Ray(排名第一), red) as well as the C7 generation, introduced in 2014 (white), 和C8, 2020年推出(蓝色)-Juechter定期与供应商和客户会面，以获得对每一代车辆的反馈，并让克尔维特的活跃粉丝群了解该车的未来. (照片:J. 亚当窗口)Corvette Engineer’s Rochester Roots
在他生命的早期, Juechter发现他更喜欢手工课上的修补工作，而不是其他工作.
我主要在纽约的威彻斯特郡长大，在网赌论坛有哪些地区待过一段时间, he says he was somewhat of an outlier among his peers. All the adults in his life were professionals, 医生, 律师, 或商人, and he had no engineering role models.
“I thought I was this very odd kid because I was constantly taking stuff apart, 建筑材料, putting motors on skateboards, building a full-suspension bicycle—all this quirky stuff,Juechter说. 下课的时候, 我们班所有的孩子都会去象棋俱乐部或辩论俱乐部，而我则直接去商店.”
He excelled at math and physics and eventually found his calling in engineering. At Rochester, everything seemed to click.
“I credit Rochester for giving me that enlightenment, giving me that ability to find my path, and giving me the education at a quality that is unsurpassed,他说.
他不仅在罗彻斯特大学发展了数学的严谨性，他作为一名工程师仍在使用, 但他也开始发展关键的软技能，成为科尔维特的代言人.在网赌论坛有哪些，当一位教授要求班上的所有学生就他们的实验结果做五分钟的陈述时，他第一次经历了在人群中演讲.
“每个人都感到羞愧，想知道他为什么要让一群工程师做这件事,他说. “我总是很害羞, and I was freaked out about it, 所以我都写下来了, I practiced it constantly, presented it to my girlfriend over and over. Because I had done it so many times, it just came out and it went well. But if it had gone the other way, I might not have this job today.”
After graduating with a degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering in 1979, Juechter moved to Michigan, where he had no familial or local connections in the car business.
他在通用汽车开始了45年的职业生涯，而且还在继续，慢慢地、稳步地往上爬.
有一次，他为通用汽车现已解散的Fisher Body部门设计了门铰链, one stint on the road to getting more comprehensive roles in vehicle development.
He eventually applied on a whim for a job at Corvette. Juechter’s predecessor Dave Hill thought he had the right perspective for the job.
“戴夫·希尔是新任总工程师，实际上他需要一些新鲜血液，因为克尔维特一直是一个封闭的社区,Juechter说. “You couldn’t get a job there.”
His new outlook helped revitalize the brand.
“His focus has always been on bringing Corvette to the future,” says Holder. “在他加入之前，我会说赛车开始落后于其他一些竞争对手. 塔吉做了很多工作来定义第五代克尔维特，当它出来的时候，它是革命性的.”
Qualities of Great Sports Cars Transfer to Other Vehicles
“A lot of customers imagine that as the chief engineer, 我在赛道上度过了我的一天，我只是开着车快速行驶，并发布需要修理的命令,Juechter说. “That’s really a tiny little portion of my job.”
At any given moment, Juechter is working on numerous future iterations of a Corvette. 从一张白纸到一辆从装配线下线的汽车需要四到六年的时间, and Juechter has a hand every step along the way.
Juechter says the most fulfilling parts of creating a car bookend the process.
“I like when you’re first just trying to imagine what you can do, what technologies you’re going to use to architect the car,他说. “I like bringing people together to figure out a product plan. And then the end part when it finally all comes together is really fun. There’s a lot of grind in between—years of small wins, wrestling with all the issues, 问题, and surprises along the way.”
总部设在密歇根州, where the team designs the cars, Juechter travels regularly to the Bowling Green Assembly Plant in Kentucky, where the cars are assembled.
He’s also often on the road to meet with suppliers, to talk with customers at events to get feedback on the vehicles, and to observe how the cars perform at races like the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona.
By contrast, his home life seems surprisingly quiet. 他和玛丽, 他结婚40年的妻子, live in a small ranch on 65 acres of wooded, rolling hills in northern Michigan, where they spend most of their free time riding bicycles, 越野滑雪, 穿着雪鞋走, and engaging in other outdoor activities.
He says he has long been sensitive to environmental issues, making a concerted effort to have a negative personal carbon footprint. 而一位环保主义者跑车高管乍一看似乎自相矛盾, Juechter says there are common threads.
“People think of sports cars as maybe a little irresponsible environmentally, but actually the qualities that make a sports car great—lightweight, 空气动力学, efficient engines—can contribute to great cars in any segment.”
到目前为止，科尔维特已经使用电气化为E-Ray的驾驶体验增添了乐趣和性能, 但Juechter表示，跑车的进步将渗透到通用汽车的所有车型中. He makes no predictions about what GM will look like 45 years from now, but he says his team will continue to lead the pack into the future, 他们热衷于成为第一个使用最新先进材料和技术的人.
“我们采用最新技术，无论是来自汽车行业还是世界上任何地方的技术，并网赌论坛有哪些如何应用这些技术为客户创造更好的拥有体验,Juechter说.
“凭借E-Ray，我们在电气化领域迈出了伟大的第一步，从现在到最后，我们还将迈出一大堆的步骤.”
